No common engineering entrance test for now

6/8/2016

Amidst the confusion surrounding implementation of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has ruled out the possibility of any common entrance test for engineering seats in the country.

AICTE chairman Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe told reporters here on Tuesday that though there was “thinking” on these lines, nothing concrete can be expected even the next academic year. He was speaking after participating in the 51st annual convocation of Bangalore University.

Pointing out that some States were already using scores in the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) mains for admitting students, he said that the implementation of one exam for the whole country would require an “alignment in syllabus”, without which students of the State syllabus would be at a disadvantage.

Start-up policy

Elaborating on employment for students, which comprised much of his convocation address, Mr. Sahasrabudhe revealed that the AICTE would launch a start-up policy within two months, which colleges across the country could adopt on voluntary basis.

“It is a big myth that large industries have more jobs. It is actually start-ups and small and medium scale industries that have a large number of jobs. We will give a framework to colleges,” he said.

What this could mean for students is a possibility of getting credits for projects that would otherwise not fetch them anything, the AICTE chairman added.

He also said the Centre had plans to ensure that more Indian institutes make it to the top 100 in international rankings, among which it was identifying 20 government and private institutions (10 each) to be mentored, including providing them with funds.

Mr. Sahasrabudhe also spoke of the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) improving the rankings of institutions. The response to the scheme had exceeded the 500-mark target, with several faculty members from foreign universities teaching in Indian institutions, including at Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science.